Preparing for the Environmental Decade: A Field Experiment on Recycling Behavior

Examines the impact of a communication campaign designed to encourage recycling participation in a community curbside pickup program. Residents in the study were contacted in 1 of 3 ways: (1) with an interpersonal reminder about the scheduled pickup for the neighborhood, (2) with a flier noting the scheduled pickup and detailing how to prepare materials for curbside pickup, or (3) with a flier noting the scheduled pickup and providing examples of the economic advantages of recycling efforts. Results indicated that mean participation exceeded the goal of 33% of all households participating with participation in control neighborhoods lagging behind the experimental groups. It is concluded that the role of communication media is significant in leading the individual through a causal chain of effects, from drawing attention to integrating behavior change.